Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,926 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.08% of Waters worth $14,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,410,763 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,586,653,000 after purchasing an additional 138,511 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Waters by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Waters by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $934,100,000 after purchasing an additional 37,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,552,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $539,606,000 after acquiring an additional 42,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waters during the second quarter valued at $266,384,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $392.19.

Waters Trading Up 0.4%

WAT opened at $377.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $373.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $334.69. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%.The business had revenue of $608.55 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

About Waters

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.